The Rule Of Life
by Maximum Rage
Summary: One rule must be executed, Trechery must comply, Death must tease at your enemys fingertips, the Flock must be destroyed...one by one.
1. Prologue

Prologue

**The images faded in and out of the screen as he sat in his office. Beautiful were the images that passed through the screen, everyone of them, even the dog. The dog was much like his own with it's vast intelligence hidden from the naked eye. With that a new image popped onto the screen, a image that would fulfill his life's plan, that would would bring forth what the creature in his lap was named for.**

**"Fi del m****ó****n, is this project viable?" He remarked to his small, furry colleague.**

**" Yes, Project Broken Wings is exactly what we hoped for."**

**"Good. Shall we?" He said motioning to the control panel at his side.**

**Fi del m****ón nodded.**

**He grimaced as he pressed his favorite button, he had only pressed it twice before and he knew how lethal it was, he knew what pain he was inflicting on the 'Flock.' But they had failed to cooperate, he'd seen that in the files of those before him, so they had to go. He stood and pulled the blinds so they could watch the silver needle soar through the sky.**

**"Let the games begin." One rule, one winner, one world to destroy.**


	2. Leave

Welcome to the Game...Welcome to the War

PART ONE: Breaking the Habit

Leave

"Max! Come on! Just one bite? The smallest little morsel? PLEASE! Your starving us! Thats called child abuse! You could go to jail! Max-"

"Nudge! Stop your excessive yapping! Can a girl enjoy her food for once in her life! Or is there some law that states that as a criminal offense!" I yelled back at her, "Besides, you all decided that it wasn't smart to listen to Max, you should _at least_ assume that she, in fact, does knows all. So now you suffer. I eat my caramel apple and you stare at the world's most disgusting chili dog, and thats that. And no Gazzy, you cannot throw yours at a pedestrian."

Gazzy looked crestfallen, "But whats the fun in buying a chili dog then? Besides the fact that you'll all be up all night smelling my inner skunk." Nudge gagged at that last thought he expressed.

"Um, maybe eating it!" I glared at him.

"I'd consider that if it weren't plastic!"

"It can't be that bad." I reached over and took the weight out of his hands, then pulled it closer to my mouth. Someone grabbed me by the arm.

"He did warn you." I shot Fang a glance and shrugged him off. Then I brought my teeth down on the flock-rejected food, gagging almost instantly.

"Your...description...does it...no...justice...Gazzy." I managed to sputter between coughs.

Then I finally dislodged the meaty rock from my throat and it shot through the air and right into Fang's face. The kids immediately cracked up and I joined in until there were tears raising to my eyes. Fang merely glared at me slightly and wiped my saliva off his face.

"So not funny." he commented. During this fiasco I had managed to drop my precious caramel apple on the asphalt. I sighed forlornly.

"Remind me to pay you for entertainment Max." Gazzy managed before another burst of juvenile cackling was let loose onto the streets. Thats when I made the greatest mistake in my life, I looked at Angel's face.

"Iggy you're so lucky you're blind, Angel's using her Bambi eyes. Come on guys, theres an  
Arby's off to our right."

"YES!"

"Finally!"

"Yep, woo hoo, you can all thank my mercy _after_ I eat my apple turnover." I said bringing their show of happy dancing and screaming to a gradual halt as we entered through the glass doors. They needed a break. We'd been running around the fair, on our mini vacation, all day and they all looked exhausted but adrenaline kept them going. I have to say they had some great rides.

After about fifteen minutes we had all just received our _pounds_ of food and we _all_ apparently had the urge to eat desert first. I knew Mom wouldn't be okay with that, so neither was I.

"Excuse me, actual food first. You need fuel." I remarked as I sank my teeth lovingly into my turnover.

"Hypocrite!" Nudge yelled from the other side of the booth.

"Ahh, the joys of higher authority."

"Screw the turnover is all I have to say, I'm already on my second Jamocha shake." Iggy stated.

"Well Iggy if you want to see-I mean feel, taste, smell, or hear your third, I would start on one of your Bacon Beef 'n Cheddar sandwich."

About five minutes later I noticed the cashier.

"Everyone hurry and finish up we got all day to stuff our faces, lets go find some more carnival rides or something." I said trying to coax them from the Arby's, the cashier kept staring at me in all the wrong places.

"Why don't we find a hotel. I don't want to walk around the fair anymore I want to lay down and sleep." Angel suggested sympathetically obviously reading my thoughts and probably Josh's, the cashier, disturbing ones too...I didn't want to think about it.

"That guys a real creep," Whispered a pale-faced Angel. "We should get out of here, his shift ends in five minutes."

"Well then, you all know the plan." I remarked as we headed out the door as quickly as we could Fang walking directly behind me protecting me from Josh's perverted gaze.

_Just like him. _I thought bitterly, not that I wanted Josh looking at me anyway.

_Hes just trying to keep the flock safe, and that includes you Maximum._

_Welcome to my humble head Voice, make yourself at home, whats mine is yours, theres no privacy here. _Sarcastic me is back in business.

Then I was aware of Fang shushing the Flock.

"Come on lets find a hotel."

"That one." Nudge pointed.

I looked still surprised by a two word sentence leaving her mouth. My eyes went wide.

"No." I had made the mistake of taking out the Max Ride card of unlimited fortune.

"Yes!" She shrieked snatching the card from my hand. "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

"Don't you dare!"

Right at that moment Angel tackled me, or at least she tried. I had only stumbled a step.

"We've already made plans." With that Gazzy joined in in what I was beginning to think of as football practice and managed to force me to the ground.

My eyes shot to Fang's and he nodded. Stop Nudge. He took off running only to be stiff armed by Iggy.

Fang fell to the ground blood flowing from his nose.

"Sorry."

"You will be!"

"Fang, ignore him and get these guys of me!" I yelled at him trying to stop the street fight that was inevitable.

"Do it yourself!" He yelled back obviously mad now.

"I would but I'd end up punting them down the street! I think they've had enough abuse for one lifetime!"

Angel finally let go and Gazzy followed her lead.

"Lets go get Nudge. If shes rented rooms from this hotel, so help me I will beat her to a pulp."

_You wouldn't, would you?_ Angel asked in my head.

_Of course not Angel sweetie, I just meant she was going to be in big trouble._

We stepped in through the revolving glass doors to see a spacious overly decorated lobby. I spotted Nudge sitting on a very fancy couch reading a fashion magazine and swinging three key rings on her finger.

She saw us and set the magazine down.

"Took you long enough." She said tossing a key to me and Iggy then keeping one for herself. "I got us the three biggest suites which all have there own floor, just because I thought we needed a break and all and because they have balconies and hot tubs and a refrigerator and Angel came up with this little scheme thingy-" Angel clamped a hand over Nudge's mouth.

At the moment I thought she was stopping another drastically long speech. "Why didn't you pick one suite or two? If there the biggest they'll fit more of us in one, and how did you get the guy at the front desk to let a thirteen-year-old book the three biggest rooms?"

"Angel helped me with that."

Then I put two and two together. Nudge, Iggy and I all had a key. Angel would go with Nudge. Gazzy with Iggy. Fang with me...Me and Fang in one room. 'We've already made plans'...'And Angel came up with this scheme thingy'...I looked at the board behind the guy at the front desk. Our room number was the Honeymoon Suite...Fang and me in the Honeymoon Suite...One bed...Me and Fang...at this point I stopped breathing.

"Hey Max. Are you okay? Then kids are already in the elevator."

"YOU GOT US THE HONEYMOON SUITE?! THIS IS MUTINY!" I directed my anger to the elevator whose doors were closing. Luckily Angel had thought to make the people in the lobby oblivious to my outburst, or else we would have been kicked out by now.

I charged at the elevator with Fang on my heels, but they were already gone. Then suddenly the I heard a ring to my side and saw what mercy this world had. Another elevator. I hurtled over Fang, who ducked, to get into the elevator and pressed for the twelfth floor.

I stood in an angered silence. Planning my revenge. The doors creeped open to show a small hall with three doors.

"Great, they rented a whole floor."

By the time we'd entered our room I'd decided it didn't matter how I killed them, just that _I_ killed them and it was a slow and painful death for the lot of them. I dropped my bag in the closet and then stepped out of the room.

"Where're you going?" Fang asked

"I'm going to stake them out." I replied over my shoulder.

"You'll be letting them win that way. They just want a reaction out of you. But it's your choice. Your anger will just fuel them."

"Well Mr. Child Psychology, you get the floor then."

"Or I could just stay on my side of the bed?" He asked hopefully

"Or you could sleep in the alley." I said plopping down on my Queen-sized bed.

With that I turned on the TV.

An hour later Fang slid into the bed knowing I was on the verge of sleep and wouldn't notice. I started to fall side ways out of my sitting position and my head landed, _totally_ on accident, in his lap...

_1111111111Rule1111111111_

I woke with a start after feeling five figures make impact with me.

"Wakey, wakey, we've let you sleep in until now but we need to get going soon."

I reached out to strangle the voice for disrupting my dreams but was grabbed by the wrists and lugged out from under the covers and onto the floor instead. Being as mad as I was I tackled one of my attackers. I was surprised to see Fang under me with a smug smile on his face and quickly got off him to see the rest of the flock sitting on my bed. I was about to let my anger slip away to embarrassment until I saw the time.

"I was supposed to wake up two hours ago! And since when is it okay to pounce on me while I'm sleeping?!"

"You were sleeping so soundly it didn't feel right to wake you until now, where we made it a game. Jump on the grouchy old bear."

"Shut up, Fang. All of you go to Iggy and Gazzy's room and let me get ready."

Half an hour later I walked in on them playing Sorry! the game of sweet revenge. Which reminded me of last nights occurrences, ending with...I felt my face heat up.

"How was your night Max?" Gazzy asked as if he was innocent. He was playing it very well.

"Very nice, thank you. The Honeymoon Suite was quite a treat. See? I'm in such a good mood I just rhymed."

"Were you and Fang making out in the closet or something?" I was going to kill Iggy, but I thought back to what Fang had said the night before about provoking them.

"Oh yeah of course, I mean it was the Honeymoon suite. Why not have some fun?" Fang went stiff and looked at me with a severely confused expression. I told him my plan through my eyes hoping he wouldn't take this the wrong way, I still couldn't believe that I was saying this. He smiled knowingly.

Everyone else was silent. They hadn't been planning on this.

"Liar." Angel said extracting the master plan from my mind.

"What ever you say demon seven-year-old. Lets go you guys."

_1111111111Rule1111111111_

The street was haunted by the most delicious aromas mixed with fumes from passing semi-trucks. We had just stepped out of the hotel. I had made the kids check out of the hotel since they had dishonest checked us in.

_Maximum. Across the street is a tour bus, why don't you take a break from flying around all the time._

_Wasn't yesterday a break from flying?_

_Yes, but take the bus instead of flying, you're still tired. _

_Whatever._

"Hey guys we're hitching a ride on that bus over there. Get it, got it, good."

"Wow, a tour bus! Max thats awesome! Road trip! Road trip! I can't wait, this will be so much fun. I wonder if they allow dogs on board. I guess if they don't we'll just lie and say Total is Iggy's guide dog and all."

Guess who that was. We reached the doors to the bus, but the driver was busy reading a magazine to notice us, so I tapped on the glass waved the Max card in front of me. He looked down and nodded opening the door.

"All seven of us are going to Phoenix."

"Thats a long way for a group of kids."

"Yeah are parents divorced, so we head back and forth between them. We're heading to our mom's house now." I surprise myself sometimes at how good a liar I am.

"Oh, thats understandable."

After I swiped my card I headed towards the back where the Flock was sitting.

"The other passengers will be coming back from their thirty minute break soon. They're all headed to the west coast too." Our driver called back.

"Sounds good."

So we settled in. It only took five minutes for the two couples and the one small family to board again, then we were off.

We were just out of town talking and laughing all the way, it turns out this is one of those tour buses that has TV's in every other seat. That explains why It was so expensive to get a ride. And the seats reclined!

"We could stay here awhile. I mean it's not all-out luxury like last night, but its still really nice and peaceful in a cozy kinda way." I said to no one in particular.

"Yeah I guess." Fang said glancing over at me.

"I didn't mean you and me sitting together." I said hurriedly. "Just all of us together only a few feet from each other enjoying ourselves."

He shrugged and looked out the window at something I couldn't see.

I glanced around at my family they were happy, smiling, and Iggy was drooling in his sleep. I loved them all so much. I just wished I could protect them, keep them out of harms reach. I knew this vacation could only last so long. But I couldn't help but stare at them, even Iggy's slobbery face, these kids were the strongest in the world, they survived so much and lived through the absolute hardest, they deserved more love then they were receiving. My eyes came to rest on the figure beside me and memories flooded my mind, the past replayed across my vision.

_Leave them, Maximum. Leave them._


	3. Going, going, gone

2: Going, going, gone

Outside the widow was a rural landscape that was seemingly ordinary, except this time I was seeing it from the ground and not the air. Everything looked plain and boring until I spotted a form racing through the sky, it resembled a plane of sorts. I tried to focus on the object but the glint of the sun on the window was blinding so I gave up knowing that was one small plane.

As I turned my attention back to Max I saw her go rigid. She'd been acting weird lately. Although I couldn't blame her, the kids were rebelling, and they showed no mercy. I was impressed by the whole Honeymoon Suite thing, both by the kids and by Max. She had done a great job lying to them about how their plans hadn't worked, how we had kissed. But Max wasn't stiffening because of the kids at the moment, her eyes had glazed over and her lips were pursed, the lips mine had come in contact with a mere three times before, she was obviously talking with the notorious Voice.

I let it go for the moment. And checked on the kids to see what they were up to. Nudge, Gazzy and Angel were playing Truth or Dare, daring each other to lick the windows and all that crap. All the while Iggy was drooling on his shirt. I chuckled, if only he could see himself now.

At this point I saw Max raise slowly. I watched as she made her way down the isle to the driver who talked with her for a minute and then pulled over. By now I was really curious to what she had planned. I listed all the possibilities of what she could be doing in my head, but my train of thought was interrupted by Angel's scream.

"MAX NO!"

I catapulted myself into a standing position, whatever she was doing Angel didn't like it.

I was then aware that all eyes were on us, even Iggy's, who had been roused from his slumber was staring at Angel like she had gone mad.

Max turned to the Flock, her face was overloaded with sorrow, an expression I often paired with tears was plastered on her beautiful face. Then she mouthed a word that would leave us scarred. 'Goodbye'

She stepped down the stairs and onto the road. I urged myself to move but I was frozen with fear. She was leaving! She promised to never leave and yet here she was! Leaving them hopeless!

The Bus slowly edged forward until we were pulling away from Max. My Max. I watched her gracefully throw herself into the air and soar upward.

...Going...

Then I saw the airplane heading straight for her, but now I saw it wasn't an airplane. It was a missile set on destroying Max. I was aware of her veering of to the side, but the missile followed suit.

...Going...

She dived downward with the missile on her heels. She disappeared behind the tree line. Seconds later an explosion rocked the crust beneath the bus.

...Gone...

Max was gone.

I went numb. I couldn't sense the bus picking up speed, I couldn't hear the screams of terrorists, aliens or the apocalypse, I didn't feel Angel's tears soaking my shirt or her fingernails piercing my skin as she clung onto me as if I were life.

Max was gone.

I felt my heart physically break.

Maximum Ride had hit the end of the road...

**AN: Please don't hate me everyone. Just wait for the next chapter.**


	4. Only Absent

3: Only absent

Three weeks. She'd been absent for three weeks. I refused to think of her as dead, gone. No, she was alive, out there somewhere. She had to be, she was the invincible Maximum Ride. And thats exactly what her life had been. She had tried her hardest to make the lives of the Flock a Maximum Ride. And for me, thats exactly what she did. She made life a hormonal, adrenaline rush, of a roller coaster.

She was only absent. She wasn't dead with Ari, she wasn't gone along with our hopes of a real life. She was merely absent. Missing in action.

I spent every waking hour daydreaming about her. The few hours of sleep I got every other night were filled with replays of that day and of horrible pictures of what her body must have looked like after it was blown apart. A foot here, a leg over there, chunks missing at random. I shuddered involuntarily.

So many things happened over the course of our lifetime. And so many things didn't. Now my only wish was to see her, feel her one more time. She had lied about our night in the hotel, but now I wished she hadn't had to be a lie. I wished I hadn't been such a coward.

I had let her sleep in not because it hadn't felt right to wake her, but because I'd spent those two hours staring at her. She only got a few hours to relax during the day and that was in her sleep. But even then she was never completely calm, she had frequent nightmares and she worried; about everything

I remembered all the happy moments we'd shared, every smile, every laugh, every kiss. She was so beautiful when she smiled, and her laugh was so pure. She perfect in every way, except her stubbornness. But I loved that to. I just never had the guts to tell her. Maybe if she hadn't run away every time I got close, I might have told her then.

I wasn't the only one effected greatly by Max absence, Iggy's cooking skills had deteriorated; he didn't care anymore, Ella hid in her room most of the time; grieving the lost sister she'd barely known, Nudge stopped talking...completely, Gazzy had barely eaten anything in three weeks, Angel had confined herself to her own mind (most likely because all our thoughts were too depressing), Total slept most of the time. Even Akila was quieter and more depressed than usual. Dr. Martinez...I didn't know how much this all effected her, but I heard her cry herself to sleep every night, just like the rest of us. With the one exception. Me. I had the most reason to cry, yet the tears never came. So I kept the Flock alive, that was the least I could do for her.

The dominant emotions in Max's mom's house where sorrow and guilt. The atmosphere around us crackled with tension and hurt.

We all missed her more than she would have expected. But there was nothing we could do about this situation. On the bus I could have stopped her, but I was frozen, and I hated myself for it.

Max would have wanted us to live and forget, but thats impossible. None of us would be here today if it wasn't for her. And yet she would have rather had us moving on, living, rather than be thankful. In a second any of us would have taken Max's place, but we were a couple seconds to late...

Time had lost essence.

Emotion was clouded and stormy.

Life was numb.

Life had ended.

_Thrump, therump. Thump, therump._

My head snapped up.

**AN: *raises right hand* I, Maximum Rage, promise to update every week if possible and not leave my viewers in the dark for...a month, ever again. **

**Thats my New Years resolution. To update faster than I have been. But you all could help by reviewing. I don't trust my view counter thing. It said that I had 56 views last time I updated and yet only 4 people reviewed. I also give you all permission to hate me in your reviews, I just ask that you do review. Expect a couple one shots (or as I will now refer to them, onesies) in the next week or so.**


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